


Africa

by Aestheticdenbrough



Series: AUs based off things [2]
Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Comedy, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Found Family, M/M, Romantic Comedy, and we stan, based off that rom com blended, bill is a trans man, family au, i cant write imsorry, pls enjoy, richie is the dad who tries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-06-06 13:03:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15195359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aestheticdenbrough/pseuds/Aestheticdenbrough
Summary: Bill Denbrough and Richie Tozier have more than just your average awkward first meeting. They plan to never see each other again after a failed first date at Hooter's; a week later they end up on the same vacation by unusual circumstances. They continue the vacation with full intent to ignore each other, but with the help of hotel staff and both of their children, their feelings for each other may change...





	1. Chapter 1

Bill opens the front door, "Tyler? Eric?" He calls out, stepping into the landing and shedding his jacket. In reality, he'd been home for twenty minutes. Well, in the driveway. He'd sat in his car and cried, after the day he'd had it was beyond understandable

He looks in the hall mirror to assure himself that his skin has evened out and his eyes aren't puffy the face he's met with still disappoints him though. Looking tired, and worn down, and old. He lets out a sigh, "boys?" He calls, peeking around corners and doorways. 

Suddenly, thirteen year old Tyler jumps out of the bathroom with a bottle of shaving cream, spraying it right at Bill's face.

"Five o'clock shadow, pops, you missed it," the young teen teases.

"Godamnit, Tyler," is all Bill can mumble to himself. He wipes the foam out of his eyes and looks ahead, putting his hand out firmly for the bottle, "give it," he says flatly.

Tyler sighs looks like he's going to hand it over, but not before spraying more in Bill's hand and dropping the can to the floor. He runs off, and giggles can be heard from the boys' room. Both of them. _Both of them were in on this._

Bill sighs, leaning down to pick up the bottle and putting it back in the shower, looking around the bathroom that he'll need to clean tomorrow, then looking his tired face in the mirror again, looking away quickly and walking back to his room. 

He toes off his shoes and gets into bed, looking in his bedside table for a beer, popping the bottle open and taking a sip. He's been trying not to, and he knows he still needs to put the boys to bed, but he's had his worst day in a while. _Messed up with my editor. Failed date. And- lost my babysitter_ , he lets out a sigh.

He hears another eruption of giggles and decides he needs to go put the boys to bed now, then he could relax. He gets out of bed with a frustrated groan, walking his way to the boy's room, knocking the door before opening it.

He sees them on the floor with the Legos dumped out and sighs, walking around them on his toes to lift four year old Eric from the floor, "bedtime," he says breathlessly, setting Eric on his bed, sliding his socks off of him, glad his kids wear pajamas all day anyways. He kisses Eric's head and helps him lay down, "sleep," he says tiredly, tucking him in tightly around the sides. 

"It's early though, daddy," the young boy pouts.

"Yeah, time is an illusion, don't worry about it," he says quickly, turning to his older son, "do I need to pick you up and tuck you in too?" He asks teasingly, the boy shaking his head quickly, embarrassed at the mere offer. 

He watches as the boys get comfortable in their beds, going to turn off the lights but stepping in a pile of Legos on the way with a Yelp.

"Daddy? Are you okay?" Eric asks quickly, sitting up in bed.

"Just-" he hisses in a breath, "fine, promise," he says with a feeble smile, limping the rest of the way to the light switch. "Goodnight," he says simply before shutting the door behind him and going back to his own bed.

Bill pulls out his phone, texting Eddie, venting about his day. How work had just been not good and how his date earlier had been a dick. _Where can I find someone who would actually treat me how I want to be treated and get along with my kids?_ He asks himself, keeping that part only to himself. 

Eddie tells him that he was supposed to go to Africa with his boyfriend of a few months, as a present for spring break. But his boyfriend had neglected to mention that he had _kids. 6_ of them. 

"You know I can't do kids Bill- I love Eric and Tyler, you know that. But kids I don't know? I don't know where they've been! So obviously peter and I- we're done."

"So seriously bill, he isn't using the tickets. I'm not. They're not refundable. Take your kids on a vacation, maybe they'll behave better," Eddie offers.

Now, Bill could never pass up a free trip, so obviously he accepts the offer. He falls asleep feeling as if he finally has some part of his spring break figured out


	2. The beginning _ the toziers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An introduction to Richie's family, meeting Bill again, and buying a trip.

Richie slings his bag over his shoulder, walking cheerfully out of the store, _Peter's sporting goods_ , the only job he's ever had where he's as close to his employer as he is. 

He walks with a hop in his step all the way to his pickup truck, tossing his bag into the passenger seat as he starts the old vehicle. He turns the music up on high and rolls down his windows, rolling out of the parking lot, singing loudly to the radio.

"Headed on the highway! Lookin for adventure, and whatever comes my way!" He sings alone, dancing in his seat, using his face to express himself, keeping his hands on the wheel, he's gotten in trouble for that before.

He pulls into his driveway, creeping in to see his daughters on the couch, some random movie on. Chloe asleep on top of Espen and Veronica on her phone, looking bored with babysitting.

He creeps behind them, putting his hands on Veronica's shoulders and making a loud roaring sound. She jumps in her spot, spinning around quickly, "Godamnit dad, it's not funny anymore," she huffs, shutting her phone off.

"Ah, Ronny, get a sense of humor," he smiles, turning to a sleepy, but now awake, Espen and Chloe, "you guys sleep well? I think you'd both prefer your beds," he says, Immediately picking Chloe up in his arms, "Espen I'd carry you too- but Chloe is four and you're eleven- I think you'd crush me," he chuckles, hoisting Chloe up higher, her head on his shoulder.

"Got it dad," she smiles, grabbing the air and standing up, walking around the couch like she's holding someone's hand, "Mom and I are going to bed," she informs him, hugging him one handedly and running up the stairs, never letting go of the invisible hand.

"Tell your mother I love and miss her!" He shouts up the stairs, smiling when Chloe doesn't so much as stir, the deepest sleeper of his three kids. He turns to Veronica, "You planning on sleeping any time soon?" He inquires.

"I have to run an errand," she says simply, "can I borrow the truck?" She asks, standing up to get closer to meeting his eyes.

"Uh, you don't have your license so you can't drive without good ole pops here, but I can't leave Chloe and Espen, can it wait until tomorrow?"

Veronica shifts awkwardly in her spot, "Um, not exactly," she says, running her hand up and down her arm.

"What? Ya buying drugs? Because I don't approve," he asks, tapping his toe, still smirking though, just teasing.

"Uh- no," she replies, looking down at the ground, "I just have to, seriously, please?"

"Really can't let you, champ, what do you need?" He asks, ruffling her hair and shifting Chloe's position again.

Embarrassment spreads over Veronica's face, dragging her hands down her face, "uh, I'm on my period," she says quietly, whispering it nearly to herself, no matter how often she's had to talk about this with her dad, it never gets better.

"What? Didn't hear you, Ronny," he says, leaning in and cupping his hand behind his ear teasingly.

"I'm on my period!" She basically shouts at him, before sulking back a little.

His face falls awkwardly, "fuck, uh- yeah forgot you get those," he says with a grimace, "uh, get Chloe to bed, I uh- I'll get the stuff," he promises, handing the smaller girl over.

He walks back out to the car, humming softly and starting the car, backing out of the driveway and down to the closest gas station. He walks into the fluorescently lit building with the jingle of the bell. 

He walks over to the "feminine hygiene" aisle, looking with wide eyes up and down the wife variety on the shelf, _why the fuck are there so many options?_ He thinks to himself, grabbing the first box he sees.

Bill is in another aisle, looking over the beer options, he'd run out, and it's just about how he lasts through a night home with his kids without good mad. Richie sees him, walking over and tapping his shoulder, "the apple kind is the best, just a tip," he grins.

Bill doesn't look over, "Special flavors are for pussies," he says simply, grabbing his usual six pack and turning to be met with Richie.

"Hooters dude?" He asks, sounding almost appalled.

Richie puts his hand in his pocket, still holding the box of pads awkwardly, "Most people tend to call me Richie, but I suppose calling me Hooters dude works," he shrugs.

"You took me on a date to Hooters, a first date," Bill sighs, trying to brush past him, noticing the box, "those yours?" He asks, looking a bit confused.

"Uh- no, my daughter," Richie says awkwardly, "Forget satan’s waterfall exists sometimes," he says awkwardly, rocking back and forth on his feet.

"You? Daughter?" Bill asks, his voice high in his surprise, "Whatever- those are wrong," he informs.

"What? No, they're what she needs, right?" Richie asks, "Little sticky blood napkins?" He asks, referring to them with a "funny" name out of his awkwardness.

"Uh, no, c'mon, those are for old ladies," Bill says, dragging Richie by the sleeve to the aisle again, grabbing a smaller box and handing it over, taking the other one and putting it back.

"How do you know so much about this shit? You got kids?"

"Two sons. I know about vaginas because I had one for half my life," he says before walking away from Richie to put his beer on the checkout counter.

Richie stands dumbfounded, chasing after him, "What? But you-?" He starts before Bill shushes him.

"Shut up before you say something offensive. It's called transgender, it's late, I'm going home to my kids, look it up if you have to," he shrugs before paying and walking off, the soft jingle of the bell confirming his exit.

Richie hears his cell ring as he checks out, reading the contact name, Peter. He picks up as soon as he does, "Nyello!" He greets, only to hear quiet crying on the other end. "Peter? Eddie broke up with you? Because your kids?" He asks, taking his plastic bag and walking out on the phone, "your trip? Oh god, no refunds?" He talks all the way to the car, talking to his sad friend the entire way home, "I can buy the trip off you?" He suggests as he locks up the car in the driveway. Peter agrees, and Richie feels a bit guilty for capitalizing on his friend's pain, but as he hangs up he whispers "yes!" To himself and fist bumps the air.

He walks in, locking the front door behind him, tossing the bag to Veronica on the couch. "We're going to Africa for spring break!" He shouts quietly, running up the stairs to tell the other two.


	3. Shared Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill and Richie discover that they are sharing a vacation.

Bill has decided that airplanes are so much more hellish than he thought. What with his rambunctious kids and sensitivity to air pressure- he doesn't even know how he got through it.

Richie on the other hand, loves airplanes. He watches in awe out the window, pointing out all the shapes in the clouds to Chloe and Espen as Veronica snores in a seat across the aisle, earbuds blasting some artist he doesn't know, nor care to.

The plane lands, leaving Eric screaming about his ears hurting, Bill getting some awfully rude looks, only a few sympathetic glances coming his way, _figures, they think I'm a bad parent if my kids misbehave_ , he sighs to himself and tries to block it all out to avoid getting angry.

Richie meanwhile, on his flight, ends up passed out with Chloe in his lap, Espen asleep in the seat next to him, as well as Veronica. Peaceful, a loose parent, taking it easy making it easy. It lands and he's awakened by a flight attendant, smiling kindly at her, he uses his British guy voice but he's not fooling anyone.

Chloe immediately starts trying to tell the poor woman her entire life story, and everything her daddy has told her about Africa. Richie smiles apologetically, getting all of his luggage and children together.

Bill gathers his stuff, rousing Tyler from a light sleep when it's time to exit the plane, carrying the three of their luggage on his own, holding the large suitcase over his back. 

Tyler and Eric are immediately back to their own selves once they hit the ground in the airport, seeming to jump off the walls as their jetlagged father tries his best to keep them under wraps.

"Boys! Please! Just stay by me," Bill pleads, looking for somewhere to sit and figure out where the airport attaches to the car service for the van he'd rented, sighing as he sinks into one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs.

The boys sit next to him on either side, looking over his shoulder and breathing down his neck, making the frustration rise in him. He figures out the place to go, getting up quickly, gathering everything and near dragging the kids behind him.

He sees an ice cream place, shutting his eyes tightly and praying that they don't notice, but it's fruitless and suddenly he's the one being dragged to buy them each a cone. They go back to sit at a table.

Bill looks up from his phone, seeing something that nearly doubles his angry anxiety, bubbling up to his eyes until they pop nearly out of his head.

"Ay! Pop! The vein in your forehead is sticking out again," Tyler comments, looking amused at how upset he seems to be able to make him.

Bill gets up from his spot, approaching another table. "Richie? The hell? You followed me to Africa?" He asks incredulously. 

Richie looks over at the man with a speck of fear crossing his face, "Uh- I got the trip from Peter?" He says quietly, sounding unsure despite it being a fact.

"Uh- no I got the trip from Eddie," Bill argues, the realization dawning on him that they'd be sharing a trip- unacceptable.

"No- I bought it from Peter, half price," Richie adds, looking over at his daughters in confusion.

"Oh, God," Bill sighs, rubbing his temples. "I guess I'll see you later," he mumbles bitterly, going back to supervise the kids and make sure they don't wreck havoc in their first few hours in Africa.

Richie gets a taxi to the hotel, carrying his bag, Chloe even dragging her plastic pink suitcase behind her as they move down the sidewalk. They get into the car, Richie sitting up in front with the driver, making comfortable conversation the entire way.

They arrive at the hotel, Richie bringing the girls to the front desk, getting his room key, told that his "boyfriend" is already upstairs. Richie sighs, realizing the realness of the situation. _That dude fuckin hates me, shit._

They go to the first part of the room, finding the rose covered bed, seductive red bed dressings, a pole in the middle that Richie can't help but laugh out loud at.

He sees Bill on the bed, scrolling through Twitter as the kids explored the room. Richie doesn't want to bother him but he knows he should, "there's another room, four beds, we'll take that, you guys take this?" He suggests.


	4. Morning 1 - Bill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter of Bill getting ready for the day

The sun rises and the warm glow streams through the windows. The light is tinted red from the translucent curtains. He turns under the covers, groaning and putting his hands over his eyes to drown out the light, much too bright for his taste, along with being up so early during a vacation.

The "romantic" room was much too lavish for he and his boys and he'd spent much of the night tearing sexual paraphernalia from his young son's hands. _They do not need to be educated on tha_ t, he knows, though he already knows that Tyler has introduced himself to that world- and Bill is nowhere near comfortable talking to him about it. Eric however, is much too young to understand and was honest to God snacking on edible lingerie before Bill caught him.

He feels a hand smack him on the bridge of his nose clumsily, causing him to jolt his eyes open to see Tyler snoring next to him, lanky limbs sprawled across the bed lazily, Eric on the floor, obviously having been kicked off by Tyler at some point. _How does someone so small take up so much space?_ he asks himself as he sits up in bed, running his hands over the velvet comforter, which he can admit that he enjoys.

He maneuvers himself out of the bed as smoothly as he can, letting his toes hit the floor cautiously. The cool feeling from the wood flooring absorbs the warmth from the pads of his feet and sends a shiver up his spine, leaving him slipping his feet into the flip flop slippers and grabbing the fluffy deep gray robe. 

He looks back at Tyler on the bed, creeping over to his other son, lifting him as if he's a baby and laying him in the spot he once occupied himself, hoping the warmth keeps him comfortable long enough to let him continue his slumber.

Bill creeps off to the bathroom, looking his exhausted face in the mirror with a sigh, he hopes more than anything that this vacation can be some level of rejuvenating despite the presence of his children.

He immediately goes for the spray bottle of dry shampoo, pressing down on the nozzle and practically drowning his ginger locks in the white powdery substance before tousling his hair to rub it it, finally getting his hair looking as nongreasey as it takes to satisfy himself.

He splashes some water on his face to wake himself up and feel fresher. Now he'd consider himself mostly ready. He tiptoes to his suitcase, digging through until he finds an outfit for the day. He pulls on the Jean shorts and tank top. 

He slips on his flip flops and calls it a look, though he decidedly looks like he does every other summer day off. _Next mission: coffee_ , he tells himself. He goes to open the door, looking back at his boys one more time, _I swear if they get into any trouble while I'm gone_ , he sighs, hoping they'll just sleep through his journey to breakfast.


	5. Richie's first Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie leaves his daughters to sleep as he gets ready for the day

Richie awakes before his kids do, the alarm on his phone still set to his work hours so he’s up much brighter and earlier than he’d intended to on his spring break vacation. The girls stir slightly in their slumbers but soon calm again, leaving Richie as the sole person left awake in the room.

He rolls off the bed, leaving the youngest to sleep, he doesn’t see point in waking them up before he has to, it’s their vacation too, and it’s ever so slightly less stressful in the absence of screaming kids. He peeks through the curtains, sliding them open slowly to show the sunny glow bringing light to the sky as it always does in early morning. He always sees this at home, but it’s all the more magnificent on another continent.

He unzips his suitcase to pull out something to wear. He’s never been one to utilize hotel storage space, the one time he had he’d forgotten what he left in that drawer and left without it. His own goods do him no good in a hotel and not with him. So now, he opts to pull out his basketball shorts and a t-shirt with a lame pun on it about giraffes drinking coffee and calls it a look.

He dresses quite quickly, not wanting to lollygag enough to disturb the slumber of his daughters, especially Veronica because he would not put it past her to be angry if he woke her up so early. He finally is decent enough and he heads to the bathroom. All he can do about his messy hair is run his hands through it, he occasionally uses dry shampoo but he doesn’t think he’s greasy enough to yet. He pulls his toothbrush out of the plastic baggie he’d packed it in, squeezing out his toothpaste onto it before wetting it under the sink. He brushes his teeth relatively quickly. He’s probably never brushed his teeth for the full two suggested minutes, it’s always been more of a “formality” to him to be accepted by society as a whole.

He finally considers himself ready for the day, slipping on his slides to head out, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose in hopes it’ll make him feel more prepared, and maybe even give him the good luck not to see the Denbrough family at all. He doesn’t mind them, he just gets the vibe that maybe, possibly Bill Denbrough hates him; just a guess though.


	6. A Turning Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill and Richie have a small conversation in the hall on the way to breakfast that may lead them to getting along slightly better.

The two boys, despite their hopes and prayers, are none too lucky in avoiding each other. Richie gets no more than ten feet out of his room, walking his usual distracted way, before he bumps right into Bill. Bill hisses in pain and clutches at his forehead that Richie had so hit into. “What the heck?” Bill asks, taking it at a personal offense as if Richie had meant to. 

Richie is uneffected, his bangs too thick and messy on his forehead, leaving him with almost some sort of cushion to the hit, but it made it no better on Bill’s end, or maybe the man is more angry than he is hurt. “Shi-, sorry,” Richie says, he’s been trying not to swear much, particularly around children. He smirks to himself, Bill acts like a child the majority of the time as far as Richie’s experience goes.

“Look where you’re going,” Bill grumbles, finally removing his hand from his head and meeting Richie’s eyes with a fire. Passion. It may not always stem from a deep hatred like he claims so. He goes to start walking again but realizes he’s going the wrong direction. It finally dawns upon him that he’ll have to walk beside the other man the entire way to the hotel restaurant.

“Why do you hate me so much?” Richie finally asks after several paces down the carpeted hallway, keeping his eyes trained on the busy red pattern dancing on the floor as he walks. It really is a gamble, asking this question, but he thinks the answer is more important than the risk.

Bill’s expression takes on a form of taken aback. It’s not often that someone would ask someone that, much less has he expected Richie too. He seems too unserious, aloof. Too much like his own self when he was younger. “Uh- you remind me of a younger version of myself who really screwed things up for himself,” he says softly, not wanting to bring up his parents or his brother or any of the bullying he’d gone through in his teen years.

Richie takes the answer with a silent nod, chewing the inside of his lip carefully. He feels like he understands, wants to understand. But he doesn’t want to ask any further questions, it seems like an uncomfortable topic. Richie may be aloof and childish, but he’s far from uncaring.

For the rest of the walk, Bill seems slightly softer, less of a scowl taking over his face, though it isn’t quite a smile. They’re not that close, but at least Bill’s noticed something he hasn’t before. At least Richie doesn’t seem to only care about himself. 

They arrive in the bustling buffet down in the lobby, wordlessly parting ways. The parting is free of interaction besides a small pat on Bill’s shoulder from Richie, glad for the fact that he’s opened up, but he feels bad for making him bring it up.


	7. Breakfast

The kids eventually join the men, dragging themselves from bed with their own respective groans and a few words of choice from the older ones. The Tozier girls come down in shorts and t-shirts, Veronica still rubbing at her eyes to wake herself up, too far gone from her school sleep and wake schedule in only one day to awake before ten o'clock, likely caused by jet lag.

“Ay! Ronnie!” Richie calls, having found his table already, seated with an omelet in front of him, his mother has deeply ingrained in him that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Of course, he passes the exact mentality onto his children. 

Bill still wanders around the bustling room, a low hum of constant dialogue between the hotel goers and their families. This is meant to be a blended family getaway after all, which Bill learned from a brochure the night before. He and Richie are definitely not a family, though he can now mostly tolerate him. 

He’s not paying attention when he bumps into someone even less favorable, the leader of the event. The man only greets him with a wide, shiny grin. “Hello!” he says in a booming and friendly voice, “You having trouble?” he adds, seeing the confusion in Bill’s face. Bill holds simply a tray with nothing but an apple on it, he’s never been a morning hungry person.

“I- uh- do we have assigned seats?” he asks, seeing the paper name labels on all the tables by last name, he didn’t expect this and he can’t believe he’s just noticing it. He feels like a fool in front of this man, he wishes he hadn’t asked.

“Yes sir! Are you having trouble finding your place, young man?” the man asks, the same booming voice erupting from his mouth, it makes Bill feel less than even when he knows it’s nowhere near on purpose.

“Last name?” the man prompts.

“Denbrough,” Bill says confidently, peering behind him to his sons in the breakfast line to be sure they’re not getting into any trouble.

“Oh! You’re right over there, Mr. Denbrough,” the man says, gesturing over directly to the table where Richie is seated. 

Bill sighs to himself, waiting for his sons to catch up before leading them to the table begrudgingly, even if he and Richie had the conversation, the kids don’t know about it. As far as they’re concerned, the fathers absolutely despise each other.


	8. Chapter 8

Breakfast goes without too much talking or questioning, the kids finally stand to go throw away their trash and put away their trays. It leaves Bill and Richie to a moment of no more glares or awkward smiles, only looking down at their near empty plates and chewing their lips; neither of them know how to start a normal conversation with the other, all of theirs have been sudden and deep and personal.

For now, the only sound is forks scraping against the glass plates. “So, about what you said earlier,” Richie starts with a deep breath, “How can I make you more comfortable when I’m around?” he asks. It’s yet another thing that comes as a surprise to Bill, in fact, Richie Tozier seems to be a man of much mystery to him.

Bill chews his lip before smiling slightly, “I’ll just have to get used to it,” he says simply, as he’s done with other friends, Richie seems to at least have a good enough skill set and list of personality traits to be a friend. Maybe even more, though he won’t let himself think that when he’s around; he’s much too obvious when he has feelings for someone, so they’re simply not allowed.

“You sure you can handle me that long?” Richie asks with a smug smirk, already picking up on a chance of Bill having secret affections, though he’ll never do anything with that knowledge but joke about it. His awkwardness inhibits his chances at real relationships.

Bill just nods, “i’m gonna go return my plate,” he says with a small smile, readily escaping the tense air around them. He bumps into the gaggle of children, all who seem to get along just fine in a group.

“Oh! Hey pops! Eric and the girls and I are going to go on the safari today, you and Rich can go off and do anything,” Tyler says surely to Bill, looking at the other kids with a smile equal to all theirs, obviously excited for the day the group has planned.

Bill’s expression becomes taken aback again, “Oh, uh, alright,” he says with a nod, he may as well just allow them, at least he won’t need to chaperone all day in that case, and he can enjoy his vacation just as he wants to.

The kids run off in a group of giggles, leaving Bill to walk over to Richie quietly with empty hands. “I convinced the kids to make plans,” Richie says with a little smile, not wanting Bill to be overwhelmed with plans today.

“Yeah?” Bill asks, sitting on the chair with his own side smirk.

“I wanna get to know you better, you’re kinda cute when you’re not insulting me,” Richie says with a shrug, leaning his elbow forward on the table to look across at him.

“And you’re kinda cute when you’re not being annoying,” Bill chuckles.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed <3


End file.
